Hand-carried luggage



May 6, 1947. J. ss 2,420,150

HANDCARRIED LUGGAGE Filed Aug. 18, 1944 /5 i I l INVEN TOR.

' Jo/m Rzkss Patented May 6, 1947 HAND-CARRIED LUGGAGE John Riess, St. Louis, Mo., assignor to Henry Hotze & Sons Company, a corporation of Missouri Application August 18, 1944, Serial No. 550,103

1 Claim. 1

This invention goes to that character of hand carried luggage having two opening sections which swing from the base of the luggage or bag and the sections having slide fastening means commonly known as zippers, for securing or unsecuring the sections of the luggage.

The invention, therefore, has for its primary purpose the provision of improved means in the construction of the luggage for co-operation with the slide fastener means to permit full opening of the luggage sections in the event the co-operating fastener lugs have not been moved their entire opening length with respect to the luggage sections.

Another purpose of the invention is to provide hand carried luggage or bags having slide fastener means of a length to extend well into the base of the bags from the ends thereof, for facilitating full opening of the co-operating pair of sections of the bags.

A further purpose is to provide a slide fastened bag with an improved base for swinging co-operation with the bag sections to permit the sections to co-operate with the slide lugs of respective fasteners, for automatically moving the lugs thereof, to full opening positions by the spreading or swinging apart of the bag sections without injury to the slide fasteners.

Other objects and advantages will appear as this description progresses and by reference to the drawing in which:

Figure l i a longitudinal elevation taken through the bag with the base thereof shown in section.

Figure 2 is an end elevation of Fig. 1 showing the bag partly open in full lines and further opened in dotted lines.

Figure 3 is an enlarged horizontal fragmentary section taken approximately on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary plan elevation showing the co-operating sections of the bag in open position.

Figure 5 is an enlarged vertical fragmentary sectional elevation taken approximately on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Referring by numerals to the several figures of the drawing, this improved luggage or bag comprises a pair of sections 5 each having a co-operable part 8 of a zipper slide fastener secured to adjacent edges thereof as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 4, and co-operable with the sections 8 is a slide lug 9 having a grasping part iii.

The bottom wall H of the bag is common to 1 both of the sections 6 and comprises an outer layer 12 having a central and longitudinally disposed strip l3 secured thereto and secured to the layer l2 on each side of the strip is are respective reinforcing portions i l for the bottom wall H, the strip [3 and the portions it being secured to the layer 12 in a suitable manner, such as by cementing. A fabric strip i5 is cemented to the strip l3, to the side edges thereof and to the side edges of the portions hi and adjacent parts of the portions I4 in the manner shown in Fig. 5, to provide a hinge structure for the sections 6, so that said sections can be swung to or away from each other for closing and opening the bag.

The bottom wall or base I l of the bag at its ends, except the outer layer !2 thereof, is cut away, as shown at 1B in Figs. 1, 3, and 4 and the sections 6 while being secured at their lower ends to the base are separated from each other to a distance inwardly at their lower ends, as shown at H in said figures.

The slide fastener means 1 of which there are two are each secured at one end to respective ends of the base at points where the lower separated ends of the sections 6 terminate.

Each of the sections 6 at their ends Where they meet with the base I I are rounded at l8 and have parts 8 of each fastener 1 extended upwardly from beneath the base and in conformity with the rounded ends l8 of said sections, up the ends of said sections and over the upper rounded ends I9 thereof to the approximate center of the longitudinal length of the bag between the handles 1a, there being a handle secured to each bag section.

In the operation of opening the bag, when the bag is closed it is obvious that the sections 6 are secured to each other by the fasteners 1 as indicated by the respective slide lugs 9 being adjacent to one another at the top of the bag as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

For opening the bag the lugs 9 at the top of the bag are slid away from each other by engagement of the grasping parts ID of each lug for unlocking the co-operable parts 8 of each fastener 1 and are slid downwardly at the ends of the bag on the vertical runs 20 of each fastener 1.

Users of the ordinary slide fastener bags, not having the aforesaid base construction for unlocking the'bag, will move the slide lugs downwardly to the approximate position shown at 9b Fig. 1, possibly on account of the bag being placed on the floor or on a table for opening it, and the hands of the person contacting the floor or table surface, thus leaving the slide lugs 9b at the approximate and of the respective vertical runs 20 of the fasteners and will attempt to swing the sections 6 apart, thereby injuring the functioning of the slide lugs and their co-operating parts 8, as the lugs cannot be forced to slide on the vertical runs 20 by prying action without injury to the fasteners.

This invention by reason of its improved base construction having the ends of the fasteners terminate under the base adjacent to the ends thereof, and the ends of the sections 6 being rounded as indicated at I8 and the fasteners being fixed and disposed in conformity therewith, provides a construction whereby if the slide lugs 9 are but moved to positions adjacent'to the ends of the vertical runs of the respective fasteners, as indicated at 912 in Fig. 1, the downwardly and outwardly swinging of the sections 6 on the respective hinges 2| formed by the strip l3 and the fabric I5 on the base I l of the bag, will cause the lugs 9 to slide downwardly and inwardly on the rounded parts l8 of the fastener 1 and to the respective positions shown at 9a beneath the bag bottom as shown in Fig. 1, without injury to the fasteners l and the lugs 9 thereof.

This automatic moving or sliding of the lugs from the approximate positions 9b to 9a is occasioned by a wider margin of separating action of the co-operating parts 8 of the fasteners I, caused and permitted by the spaced double hinge construction and the defined curved or rounded ends 88 of the bag for swinging of the sections 6, and the co-operating parts 8 being in conformity with said rounded ends.

In actual use, when the lugs 9b are left in the position shown and the sections 6 are swung open and on account of the lugs 91) being in close proximity to the rounded ends [8, the prying or opening action of the sections 6 or rather of the cooperating parts 8 of the slide fasteners 7 will cause the lugs 9b to slide downwardly on the rounded ends l8 to the under disposed positions shown at 9a under the bag base, without injury to the lugs or the slide fastening means as a whole.

Further, the cutaway parts or ends l6 of the bag base H permit the rounded ends l8 of the sections 6 to retain their co-operating curvature, which would otherwise likely become misshaped and thus become ineffective for self-furtheropening travel of the lugs 9, in the event the ends of the base fully engaged against the rounded ends l8, as said rounded ends form a part of the slide fastener structure of the bag.

The bag frame comprises the strip 22 on each section 6 to which the co-operating parts 8 of the slide fasteners I are secured there-between and the respective walls of the sections 6, and the under disposed relatively wide strips 23, which with the strips 22 and the parts 8, are preformed and secured together by cementing and stitching, by the method set forth in my companion application of my Patent No. 2,397,506 dated April 2, 1946.

While I have described one embodiment of my invention with some particularity, obviously many other embodiments thereof will occur to those skilled in the art to which it appertains. I, therefore, do not limit myself to the precise details described, but claim as my invention all variations and modifications coming within the scope of the subjoined claim.

What I claim is:

A luggage bag having a base with a part cut away at each end; said base having a relatively rigid longitudinal strip between said cutaway parts and a relatively rigid two-part bottom wall hinged to respective side edges of the strip; a pair of opening sections each extending from a respective hinged part of the bottom wall; and a pair of slide fasteners cooperating with the meeting edges of said sections; each fastener extending from a point intermediate the length of each of said sections at the top thereof, down the ends of said sections and to a distance projecting within respective cutaway parts of the base; and means for covering said cutaway parts.

JOHN RIESS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,107,180 Gihon Feb. 1, 1938 1,914,087 Gilmore June 13, 1933 2,002,638 Lee et a1 May 28, 1935 1,705,149 Brady Mar. 12, 1929 2,000,302 Solomon May 7, 1935 

